Officials continue to await positive identification of the victim in Sunday’s stunning murder in Kirksville, while the preliminary hearing of the individual’s accused killer looms next week.

Adair County Coroner Brian Noe said officials believe they know the victim’s identity and have already contacted the victim’s likely next of kin. However, the body was disfigured beyond a degree where visual confirmation is impossible.

“There is no way to identify by looking,” Noe said.

As a result, fingerprints have been sent to the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) for analysis and hopeful confirmation, though Noe said he has no idea when to expect results.

“I’ve never dealt with them before,” he said. “We normally don’t have to do this.”

Paul R. Potter, 49, of Kirksville, is charged with second-degree murder, arson and tampering with a motor vehicle. It is alleged that Potter killed a man, likely his neighbor at Village 76 apartments, and dismembered the victim’s body.

Late Sunday night Potter allegedly set fire to another resident’s car, prompting response from Kirksville Fire and Police. He then reportedly tried to drag another resident into an apartment before the man wrestled away.

Documents state Potter then threw his victim’s dismembered arms at the witnesses before being arrested.

Potter is also accused of setting fire to two apartments, a factor Noe said makes determining the victim’s actual time of death impossible because the body temperature was affected.

The likely cause of death is stab wounds, though toxicology results are pending. Results typically are returned within two months.

Potter is being held on a $1 million bond. His preliminary hearing is Wednesday at the Adair County Courthouse.